Appleton cops use Tasers fewer times in recent years

Popular culture, better training leads to less deployments

May 7, 2012

Lt. Todd Peters deploys a Taser International X26 on Jan. 30 at the Appleton Police Department. Documents obtained through open records requests show Appleton police officers are using the devices fewer times each year since they were first put into service a decade ago. / Dan Powers/The Post-Crescent

2 Taser deployments in Appleton

About the Taser

Model carried by Appleton police: Taser X26 and M26 Voltage: 50,000* — but only 1,200 volts arc through the body when deployed. Range: 25 feet. But officers in Appleton suggest using them between 7 feet and 15 feet. Cost: $895 with holster Propulsion: Compressed nitrogen

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APPLETON — By now, episodes of the television program “Cops” and popular YouTube videos have forced Taser use into the public eye. There’s no secret what’s about to happen when the familiar yellow contraption is displayed.

Officers warn an unruly subject, aim at a fatty piece of flesh and release the compressed nitrogen charge that shoots two fish-hook barbs and a five-second electrical jolt. Anyone on the receiving end usually suffers brief neuromuscular incapacitation and falls to the ground.

Documents obtained through open records requests show Appleton police officers are using the devices fewer times each year since they were first put into service a decade ago.

“Anytime you have a new tool on the belt it tends to get used more, but since that time with better training and more public awareness, our deployments have decreased significantly,” said Lt. Todd Peters, who helps train the Appleton force on the electronic control devices.

In 2005, four years into city police using the guns, usages peaked at 39. They’ve been on the decline since then, and last year the department’s 108 sworn officers shot the barbs just eight times. Cops deployed Tasers on five subjects in 2012.

Last week, the first scientific peer-reviewed study on Tasers linked them to cardiac arrest and death. The findings come amid continuing controversy and lawsuits over their use.

Spokesmen for the devices’ manufacturer, Taser International Inc., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., assailed the conclusions in the study, pointing to a small sample size.

Since 2001, more than 500 people have died following Taser stuns, according to figures from Amnesty International, which in February called for stricter guidelines for Taser use.

Appleton police perform an in-depth review each time an officer uses force. Since 2001, when Tasers were introduced, they determined every use met department policy.

Peters said they use video from incidents as a teaching tool for officers. He said officers avoid direct shots to the chest, throat or face.

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“We teach preferred zones that maximize the distance between where the probes strike the body and where the heart is,” Peters said. “We aim for below the chest area, or just above beltline. Sometimes if someone is wearing thick clothing, we’ll target the upper thigh.”

Mukwonago incident still reverberates

The last high-profile Taser incident in the state occurred in Mukwonago in 2006.

Nickolos Cyrus, 29, died when officers fired a Taser at him repeatedly when he was found trespassing at a home construction site. Cyrus suffered from mental illness and had been reported missing. A Waukesha County medical examiner ruled he died from cardiorespiratory failure, partly due to the shocks.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin called for adherence to professional standards in the wake of the incident and pointed out other state departments experienced a drop-off in deployments “after their novelty wears off.”

“These are potentially lethal weapons,” said Stacy Harbaugh, spokeswoman for ACLU Wisconsin. “Police need as much training as possible to use these, especially when dealing with the elderly, young people and those with medical conditions.”

Nationwide, most injuries are reported not from the Taser itself, but from falls associated with the muscle “lock up.”

Each situation is unique, but Peters said Appleton officers consider where the suspect will land before shooting.

Still, they’ll take the trade-off they say leads to less use of batons, pepper spray or “going hands on,” Peters said.

Although still carried by officers, baton strikes and pepper spray have been used less than 10 times in the past eight years.

Body builder takes three stuns

As much as officers train, new circumstances challenge the technology of the Taser.

In videos obtained by The Post-Crescent of a 2010 incident, winded young officers wonder, “how did he fight through those shots?”

Minutes earlier, three officers wrestled with a 6 foot 1 inch, 260-pound “body builder” on Winnebago Street. The domestic disturbance call escalated when the male suspect found out he was going to jail.

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One officer fired his Taser into the man’s stomach. The man continued to fight after falling to the ground and was hit with another Taser.

The struggle continued, and with probes still stuck in his body officers triggered a third deployment to bring the episode to a close.

Mark Kohl, academy director at Fox Valley Technical College, said Taser deployments are almost always effective, and the incident in 2010 is abnormal.

“When they don’t work, it’s usually due to poor contact with clothing or a barb may actually have missed,” Kohl said. “If you see someone continue to fight, they didn’t make good contact.”

Peters said the visual deterrent has become almost as powerful as the deployment itself. Each Taser is equipped with a red laser that also acts as a final warning before the shot.

“It’s not a capture stick, and it’s not the right choice for every situation, but when there is body posturing, clenching of teeth and balling fists, it can control a subject,” Peters said.

Kohl, too, said training has trended away from always reaching for the Taser since “it’s not a panacea device.”

“The numbers of use around the state and in Appleton declining don’t surprise me,” Kohl said. “When they first came out, officers had to resist the urge to use the new technology, but we have since clarified when the best opportunities are to use it.”

By now, episodes of the television program "Cops" and popular YouTube videos have forced Taser use into the public eye. There's no secret what's about to happen when the familiar yellow contraption is displayed.

Story, videos, photos: Three Post-Crescent reporters spent shifts with Appleton police officers for a 24-hour period from 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31, to 11 a.m. Sunday, April 1. Armed with iPhones and notepads, the reporters were there to witness Appleton’s officers at work. What they saw was a tuned force that deals with unsavory subjects while the rest of the city sleeps. All was not rosy, however, as officers battled problems with technology, extended 12-hour shifts and what they say is a shortage of staffing.